Review: Amazonas 60% + Ecuador 70% by J.D. Gross

German chocolate, there used to be a time when I laughed at the idea. Now I know better.

On the internet I noticed some buzz about products from the J.D. Gross line, sold at the Lidl supermarkets. Now Lidl is known for low price-no frill stores so one would hardly expect to find Single Origin chocolate over there. Still they sell it! Let’s see how good it is.

JD Gross would be chocolate made as private label by Rausch Plantagen Schokoladen (Berlin).

The packages sure look luxurious, colourful and are BIG compared to other brands. The tablets contain nice rectangular pieces, all embossed with a rather royal looking logo. Looks good!

Amazonas 60% (**)

JD Gross
Amazonas 60%

Bean: Trinitario
Origin: Tocache Province – Peru
Production: J.D. Gross for Lidl ( Made by Rausch)
Price paid: € 1,69/125 g

Aroma: promise of sweetness, lots of cacao, cinnamon in the back nice snap on breaking, slight hint of rubber

Taste: sweetness in front,this chocolate’s flavors rolls in like a warm breeze, vanilla and fudge remain present, followed by some caramel and through all that a delicate cacao taste. What surprises me that this dark plantation chocolate almost reminds of milk chocolate. Even the lighter brown colour does. Only because of the slight bitterness coming in after a while, you realise it really isn’t.

The creamy texture offers a slow melt. Once its molten, the aftertaste prolonges the experience, by offering the same sweet, caramel-like chocolate aroma with just that twist of bitterness. And where milk chocolates often form a thick layer in the mouth after being eaten, this one doesn’t. All the stays is the taste.

It’s a bit to sweet for my liking, but every once in a while I do enjoy milk chocolate and this one seems to be a superior replacement for that. Wonderful, especially considering the price!

Ecuador 70% (***)

JD Gross
Ecuador 70%

Bean: Arriba
Origin: Los Rios Province – Ecuador
Production: J.D. Gross for Lidl ( Made by Rausch)
Price payed: € 1,69/125 g

Aroma: roasted coffee, dark cacao, still obviously sweet.

Taste: In contrast to the Amazonas 60%, this chocolate doesn’t jump in with sweetness. Rather a sudden gulf of cappuccino like coffee, followed by darker chocolate tones. The bitterness only strengthens this, though it doesn’t peak to overdo things. Just like the Amazona’s, this one’s texture is equally creamy and velvet like. It melts nice and slow, prolonging the enjoyment.
You get a darker feel from this chocolate, full bodied and richer in cacao. Still pretty sweet, it won’t scare off people who normally eat lower percentage chocolates. Personally, I like more fruityness going on, more surprising aroma’s, to keep things interesting. But the products of JD Gross made me curious enough to try to find the other tastes that are available in their line-up.
You really can’t get wrong when you look at the quality-price ratio. It’s not really surprising, but a solid chocolate well worth the try.